PIKT is an international collaborative research project conducted over two years by four partners. The National College of Ireland, Ministry of Education, Youth & Sport, Phnom Penh Teacher Education College and SeeBeyondBorders are together aiming to address the question of teacher effectiveness in the context of early grade school education in Cambodia. This study is investigating how teachers in Cambodia — specifically in Battambang province — can be enabled to improve their teaching practice and engage in a path of professional development. It focuses on the tasks and challenges of building teacher professional identity, how teachers see themselves and how this may change over time.
At each stage analysis of data informs the learning design for the workshops. The data and the workshops also inform the development of a Framework for Teacher Professional Identity in Cambodia and materials for an associated structured professional learning module. The research will shed international light on what’s happening in Cambodian schools and thus foster further research collaboration between Irish and Cambodian investigators.
This project is funded by the Irish Research Council, under the ‘Better World’ strand of the Collaborative Alliance for Societal Challenges (COALESCE).
CRI – At the heart of the EPIC Alliance is the Agile Schools Network, coordinated by SeeBeyondBorders. These schools are not only delivery places for education, but also collaborative spaces for research and innovation. By grounding research within real classroom contexts, the Agile Schools model ensures that all findings are practical, responsive, and directly relevant to the needs of educators and learners.
This collaborative cycle goes beyond producing high-quality research. It is intentionally designed to cultivate a sustainable community of practice, bringing together researchers and practitioners from four core partner institutions: SeeBeyondBorders, Mary Immaculate College, Phnom Penh Teacher Education College, and Maynooth University (Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education).
Through this partnership, two collaborative research projects are currently underway:
“Empowering New School Leaders: Supporting Professional Development for Leadership Transition in Cambodia”, led by Mary Immaculate College in collaboration with PTEC and SBB Cambodia.
“A Collaborative Action Research Project Supporting Early Language Development through Participatory Pedagogies”, led by Maynooth University in partnership with PTEC and SBB Cambodia.
Together, these initiatives reflect EPIC’s commitment to bridging research and practice – ensuring that innovation in education is not only generated, but meaningfully applied to improve teaching, learning, and leadership across Cambodia.
